Chapter Twenty-Two: Someone’s Here!

Chen Bo was about to say a few words, when he suddenly noticed that Director Xie had started a private chat with him again. He didn’t need to guess to know what Director Xie was after. Chen Bo smiled inwardly and accepted the video call.

Before Director Xie could say anything, Chen Bo greeted him, “Hey, Director Xie, long time no see.” This time, Chen Bo no longer felt constrained as he had before, and he had adjusted his own position.

“Um, Mr. Chen. About your notes on forging and the Ninefold Killing Fist…” Director Xie was a bit baffled by Chen Bo’s warm greeting.

“No need to say more, I’ve already got everything prepared,” Chen Bo replied, taking out two books from his system space.

When he won these items in the lottery, they were actually books. The system had freely imprinted their contents in his memory.

Chen Bo opened the first page of the Forging Notes, facing Director Xie. Director Xie knew what to do, and immediately took screenshots.

The Forging Notes was over a hundred pages long; Chen Bo spent several minutes flipping through it. The Ninefold Killing Fist was dozens of pages as well, and Chen Bo’s hands were sore by the end.

Director Xie was naturally delighted to receive these two treasures. “Mr. Chen, your contribution to the nation will never be forgotten.”

“Oh, enough with the formalities. Just keep my friends and family safe, that’s the greatest reward you could give me. Of course, if you want to award me a medal or something, I wouldn’t object,” Chen Bo replied cheerfully.

“Uh…” Director Xie was speechless, realizing that his way of thinking was entirely out of sync with today’s young people.

After bidding Director Xie farewell, Chen Bo frowned in contemplation. Now, he was at the mid-stage of the Skin Training level, his strength reaching over three hundred pounds. If he mastered the Ninefold Killing Fist, he could unleash more than twenty-seven hundred pounds of force.

That’s over a ton! He could easily punch a compact car into oblivion. Those so-called world boxing champions were nothing.

But two thousand pounds was superhuman for Earth, while on the Wild Continent, Chen Bo was still nothing more than a rookie, impressive only in front of ordinary folk.

To get stronger, he needed to win a power-enhancing pill or a cultivation technique in the lottery. Both were rare; luck had its limits, and he could hardly become the protagonist of a fantasy novel overnight.

Now, he needed to go practice the Ninefold Killing Fist. Practicing in the Chen Family was impossible; if anyone saw him using a technique that wasn’t from the family, and witnessed its power, things would get messy.

Though they were kin, after what happened with the Second Elder, Chen Bo trusted no one in the Chen Family except Chen Zhenhai and Chen Sheng.

Since practicing at home was out of the question, there was only one place left: the northern district of Yan Town. The area was sparsely populated, with only a few scattered villages. He could easily find a spot where no one would notice.

A few days later, the Second Elder’s incident had faded away. Chen Zhenhai had complete control of the Disciplinary Hall, his prestige in the Chen Family was at its peak, and even the combined authority of the other elders could not match him.

Early in the morning, Chen Bo left the house in plain clothes, heading north. The journey was long, so he hired a carriage, bumping along for an unknown length of time before arriving in the northern district.

Stepping out of the carriage, he felt as if his whole body had fallen apart. Especially his backside, which was so numb from the jostling he could barely feel it.

Ahead lay a dirt road, overgrown with weeds on either side, and scattered trees not far off. Deeper in, the land gave way to dense forest.

The coachman dared not go any further; the northern district was infamous for its dangers, with wild beasts aplenty, and sometimes even primordial beasts would appear.

The coachman was just an ordinary man; encountering a dangerous beast meant certain death, let alone facing one that could rival a cultivator.

Chen Bo had to continue alone. There were a few villages on the outskirts, but he wanted to venture deeper into the forest. He mused at how sinister that thought sounded.

He drew a longsword of treasure-grade from his system space, knowing he had to be cautious in these parts.

The further he walked, the bigger the trees became. Once, he saw a giant tree that would take four or five people to encircle, leaving him stunned. If he transplanted this to Earth, how much could it fetch?

He exhaled lightly, assuming the starting stance of the Ninefold Killing Fist: feet rooted like an old tree, unmoving, fists clenched.

His movements began slowly, then accelerated, growing faster and faster. Soon, there was a faint sound of wind and thunder, his fists leaving afterimages. No one would doubt their power.

After finishing a set of the Ninefold Killing Fist, Chen Bo was panting like an ox, sweat soaking his clothes. Yet he felt no exhaustion, only a wonderful sense of comfort.

“This is what martial arts should be!” Tears streamed down Chen Bo’s face—not from emotion, but because practicing this technique felt so good. When breaking through, the book promised, it would make you cry with pleasure.

It was like the Nine Yang Divine Skill—breaking through meant enduring the sensation of flames scorching the body. Chen Bo wondered whether the creator of the Ninefold Killing Fist had borrowed from the Nine Yang Divine Skill.

“Awesome, streamer! You’re so good, I’m getting all hot and bothered just watching.”

“Pfft, upstairs must be a dude! This stream is getting dirtier and dirtier!”

“The streamer is way better than those martial arts performers.”

“Well, obviously! Those are just performances, how powerful can they be? Real martial arts are for killing.”

“Streamer’s skills are way beyond my taekwondo instructor!”

“Taekwondo nowadays is all flashy nonsense. If you want to learn killing techniques, join the military. Otherwise, what you pick up is useless. I used to be Korean myself.”

“Hello, Korean. Goodbye, Korean!”

“Why are you all off-topic?” Chen Bo chuckled bitterly. This bunch of viewers were hopeless. Newcomers barely lasted a few days before being corrupted by the veterans, turning into seasoned jokers.

“Although I’m not tired, I’m really thirsty, and sweating too much. I need to find a place to wash up,” Chen Bo said, looking at his sweat-soaked clothes.

Soon, he found a pond. It was easy enough; he’d heard the sound of a waterfall from a distance. Sure enough, there was a large pond here.

“Ahem, I’m going to take a bath now. The next scenes will not be suitable for children, so for the sake of our nation’s youth, I’ll temporarily shut down the stream.”

“Once I’m done bathing, we’ll meet again!” With that, Chen Bo turned off the stream.

He was just about to undress when he suddenly heard voices nearby! And they weren’t far at all! Frightened, he quickly hid.

How could there be people in this wilderness?